You might wonder what managing a professional soccer team (football team for all Europeans) has to do with managing a tech project or company. Team sports are terrific at raising morale and building camaraderie and I used soccer to bring employees closer together during my tenure at Progeny. I had noticed that as we grew and became more successful the company culture struggled to keep up. Our teams worked on different projects with little interaction between groups. We also had greater employee diversity that included interns, recent college grads, mid-level and seasoned professionals, and military veterans. So, I started a Progeny soccer team to join a nearby league. We played for several years, not winning any trophies, but we did have a better record each year and even qualified for play-offs. Most importantly, soccer brought all our age groups and projects together and the office soon buzzed with excitement of team building. Think of managing a high quality project for a leading tech company like Google or Apple in the same way that leading soccer clubs like Bayern Munich or Real Madrid manage their teams. As managers, we assign roles based on individual strengths and passions to bring out the best in our employees. Frank Ribery, one of the best players in the world, can play many positions, from winger, to striker, to center midfielder. Bayern Munich is loaded with terrific midfielders and forwards. Therefore, Ribery is most often used as a winger where his top skills (speed and creativity) can be best utilized. He is not asked to defend as much as generate goal scoring opportunities.

It is the same way with tech management. We might have an employee who is a decent software developer, but if he is incredible at finding bugs it would be much better to let this person lead QA effort whenever possible. Another employee might be an exceptional engineer who is eventually promoted to be an engineering manager. Yet, it might turn out that this person does not have very good social and management skills. So, we should set this employee to be a lead architect where he/she can design IT systems, not manage projects or people. In soccer, same as in tech management, it is very important to allow people to grow into greater responsibilities or switch to different roles depending on the person's interests and the needs of a project. Real Madrid's top defender, Sergio Ramos, played as a central defender and even a defensive midfielder when it was required, but enjoyed and excelled at the right back position where he scored many goals. Similarly, Gareth Bale progressed from a defender to winger to striker as his goal scoring improved for his clubs.

Where soccer teams use different formations, tech managers use different methodologies depending on team resources and project goals. A soccer team that is full of goal scoring talent like Barcelona can use an attacking 4-3-3 formation against any opponent. A team that cannot match Barcelona's attacking prowess (like Celtic) or a team that needs only a draw might play a defensive 4-5-1 formation. Similarly, tech managers will use different methodologies for different tasks. For instance, we would use an Agile approach if the project involves incremental releases or if we build a product one concept at a time, let's say Google Maps or Hangouts. We would use a Waterfall approach if things need to be planned and done exactly right at each stage, such as sending a rocket to the moon. Cross-functional projects are similar to balancing club and international soccer teams. Soccer managers try to balance the goals of both clubs and nations (e.g. keep players from playing too much and risking injury, or benching them for one game to be well rested before a more important one). It is exactly the same with a tech project when we try not to force too much overtime for an employee with a large commitment to another project. We strive to use that employee's time sparingly so that we can keep good relationships with other managers and not burn people out.

Cross-functional projects can be used for motivation and as fun side projects to create a better environment for employees. In soccer, a player whose club team is having a poor season like Robin van Persie at Manchester United might rejoice at playing for the Dutch national team which has a great year. The national team breaks allow van Persie to return to Manchester with more enthusiasm and confidence. That is exactly what we hope to accomplish with cross-functional technical projects. Tech employees and soccer players both benefit from their managers' support and belief in their success. Arjen Robben has had terrible few years by 2012. His club and national teams lost multiple finals with Robben playing well, but missing a golden chance in the World Cup 2010 Final against Spain and then a crucial penalty kick in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final against Chelsea. Most soccer fanatics thought Robben was done then, his confidence shattered. Many had wondered why he'd been given so many chances already. Yet, Bayern Munich coach stuck with him and Robben was pivotal the following year, scoring the game-winning last-minute goal in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final. We need to do the same with talented tech employees - give them confidence to grow so that they strive to be the best they can be, not afraid to make mistakes. If people are afraid to err, they will always be subpar, thinking about not failing instead of succeeding. I was fortunate to have held the confidence of upper management throughout my career and I have done the same with my subordinates who always rewarded my trust by delivering amazing results. Believe in your team and they will reward you!